


He'll Be Home for Christmas

by sonicthehedgehoglover2



Category: Sonic X, Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Blood and Injury, Everyone is struggling, Missing Persons, for like a month, knuckles tries to be the voice of reason, sonic disappears, tails is struggling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:34:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28486173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonicthehedgehoglover2/pseuds/sonicthehedgehoglover2
Summary: Five weeks ago, Sonic was sitting on the couch talking to Tails. Five weeks later, he's gone. Tails is depressed, Knuckles is acting nicer, and Christmas is tomorrow. But, when Knuckles finds something interesting, it presents the possibility of fixing everything.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is an older fanfiction that I had on another website! So, please excuse the grammar for the first chapter! It'll get better, I promise! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it, and behind some reviews on your thoughts!

Tails was sitting in Chris's kitchen with his head down on the table and his light blue eyes on the calendar in front of him. On the calendar, a few days were crossed out in November before the x's went on to December and stopped on… December 24, Christmas Eve.

5 weeks.

Tails stood up from the table and walked over to the windowsill. With a sigh, Tails stared out the window, allowing the sunshine to warm up his slightly cold body. Outside the window, snow was floating softly down from sky and littered the already thick, snow covered ground. Dressed up and playing in the snow, was Cream, Cheese, Chris, Amy, and unsurprisingly… Chuck. They were all having a girls vs. boys snowball fight with the girls in the lead so far. Every time Chris or Chuck tried to throw a snowball at the girls, they threw twice as many back at them. Tails watched them for a minute before Amy spotted him and began to beckon him with a white gloved hand. Tails shook his head at her causing Amy to give him a sad frown. Before Amy could do anything else, Chris threw a snowball at her head which caused her to laugh and toss two back at him. This made Tails smile a bit before sadness smacked into him again.

Tails has been feeling this way since 5 weeks ago when… Sonic disappeared.

* * *

_It all started when it was near the end of November and the crew of heroes were gathered around Chris's TV, watching the news where Scarlet Garcia who was in the middle of Station Square, wrapped up in a thick winter coat and had a pair of black earmuffs on._

_"As we speak right now, a massive amount of snow is heading right towards Station Square in just a few short hours."Announced Scarlet, a wide smile lighting up her face despite the way she drew her coat closer to her body."We predict about 2 to 3 feet of snow and for you kids... NO SCHOOL! So remember to bundle tomorrow in warm, thick clothes!"_

_Scarlet was about to continue when a strong wind blew both the earmuffs and the microphone, that she was clutching in her hand, to the side and out of the view of the camera. Scarlet was about to chase after them when a shadow appeared above her. Gasping, Scarlet pointed pointed up above her head as the cameraman made a small sound of surprise before angling the camera up towards the sky. There, floating above everyone, was Dr. Eggman with a gigantic black, red, and yellow robot with Eggman's insignia, hovering right next to him in the air._

_"Eggman!"Exclaimed everyone as they watched said Egghead laugh at the camera.  
_   
_"What's he doing there?"Questioned Knuckles, pointing at the TV screen._

_"I don't know Knuckles. Maybe... trying to take over the world?"Said Sonic sarcastically, leaning back on the arm of the couch while rolling his eyes._

_Knuckles growled at Sonic."I didn't ask for your reply, Hedgehog!"_

_Knux's growling seem to have no effect on Sonic for the hedgehog just rolled his eyes at Knuckles before turning back to the TV."Then why did you ask the question?"_

_Instead of coming up with a retort to that, Knuckles crossed the room and headed towards Sonic with both of his hands clenched into fists and a glare on his face. Sonic, either didn't care or didn't notice Knuckles, for he kept his eyes only on the TV. When Knuckles was almost on top of Sonic, Chris rushed in between the both of them at the last minute with his hands up._

_"Guys, this is no time to start fighting!"  
_

_"Chris is right, guys."Tails stood up from his spot next to Cream and walked over to Chris before pointing at the TV."Eggman is about to attempt to take over Station Square again and its up to us to stop him!"_

_"Yeah."Sonic jumped off his spot on the arm of the couch and began to head towards the door."Its time to go defeat Eggman... again."_

_"Wait Sonic!"Exclaimed Tails, grabbing Sonic's arm as he passed him."Shouldn't you wait until I grab the X-Tornado?"_

_Sonic thought about it for a moment before shaking his head at Tails."Nah, I should scout ahead in case Eggman has any hidden surprises."_

_Tails looked at Sonic with uncertain eyes before releasing his grip on Sonic's arm."Ok. Be careful Sonic."_

_"Hey,"Sonic smirked at Tails,"don't worry about me pal. Careful is my middle name."_

_And with that Sonic disappeared out the door causing a few of the papers to flutter to the ground._

_"Weird,"grumbled Knuckles as everyone gathered their coats and rushed towards the X-Tornado in the garage,"I thought his middle name was Idiot."_

* * *

_**A Few Minutes Later...** _

_Tails tried to level the plane as he searched the streets below for a certain blue blur. Behind him, he heard Amy, Knuckles, and Chris mumbling underneath their breaths as they also searched for Sonic. Every now and then one of them would said 'I see him!' causing Tails to turn the plane in the direction they saw him only for them to later say 'Oh its just a car' or 'Its just a kid who really likes the color blue'. By the fifth time this happened, Tails finally had enough._

_"Why doesn't someone just use their communicator and call him?"Snapped Tails, turning to look at his friends with a frown on his face._

_Amy was about to comment Tails on his rudeness when something caught her eye. With a scream, Amy pointed in front of Tails."TAILS, WATCH OUT!"_

_Tails turned around in time to see a missile about to strike the front of the plane. Screaming, Tails grabbed the joystick and swerved the plane out of the way of the missile. Everything slowed down for Tails as the fox watched the missile miss the front of the plane by an inch and... hit the right wing where Knuckles was._

_The wing exploded in a red, fiery explosion as shrapnel went flying. Tails glanced at the wing where Knuckles was moment ago before looking forward where he saw a red figure heading towards the ground._

_"KNUCKLES!"Exclaimed Tails in shock as he, Chris, and Amy watched Knuckles fall to his doom when... a blue blur appeared out of nowhere and caught the echinda. The blue blur skidded to a stop and allowed everyone in the plane to see Sonic who was gripping Knuckles in his arms._

_Everyone gave a sigh of relief as Tails managed to pull up the X-Tornado and land beside Sonic and Knuckles. As soon as the plane came to a complete stop, Amy jumped out of the plane towards the two boys with Chris a few steps behind her._

_Sonic, at the moment, was kneeling next to an unconscious Knuckles as he leaned the echidna's body up to his."Come on Knux, wake up."Sonic slapped Knuckles's cheek lightly i_ _n hopes of waking the echidna up, only to get no reply which caused him to frown._

_"Sonic! Knuckles!"Sonic's head snapped up as he saw Chris and Amy approaching him and Knuckles._

_"Hey guys!"Exclaimed Sonic, waving his hand for them to hurry. When Chris and Amy were close enough, Sonic gestured to Chris to stop where he was."Chris, I'm pretty sure you don't want to see this."_

_Amy raised an eyebrow at Sonic as she kneeled down beside Knuckles."Why shouldn't he-oh no..."_

_Sonic followed Amy's gaze down to Knuckles's left arm which was twisted at an impossible angle at his side. The arm itself was turning a purplish color and was starting to swell quite a bit._

_"Yeah... his arm is a bit twisted out of shape."Sonic tore his gaze away from Knuckles's arm and towards Amy's eyes."How'd this happen?"_

_"It was Eggman."Whispered Amy, giving Sonic a sad look._

_"You called?"_

_Everyone turned towards the new voice to discover Eggman who was smirking at the crew from the comfort of his own EggMobile._

_Sonic frowned at Eggman before standing up, allowing Amy to take Knuckles's limp body."What do you want Eggman?"_

_"Hmm... I don't know. Maybe to take over the world!"Eggman rolled his eyes at Sonic like he was the stupidest hedgehog in the world."Seriously what part of evil villain taking over the world do you not get?"_

_Sonic put a hand to his chin as he made a humming sound."How about the part where you actually take over the world?"_

_Eggman growled at Sonic before a smirk appeared on his face."Ok... how about this then?"Eggman pressed a button on his EggMobile which caused a claw to pop out of the bottom and reach towards Amy and Knuckles. Unfortunately, Amy didn't notice the claw until it snatched Knuckles out of her arms._

_"HEY!"Screamed Amy and Sonic in unison, watching as the claw pulled back until it was right beside Eggman._

_"Let's make a deal Hedgehog. You surrender and allow me to take over the world or..."Eggman gestured to the limp form in the claw."I keep the echidna."_

_Sonic frowned at Eggman. There was no way he was going to surrender to Eggman of all people, but... he couldn't allow Eggman to keep Knuckles. Besides... Knuckles owned him five bucks._

_"Hey EggHead! I thought you were better than that!"Said Sonic as he crossed his arms and shook his head at Eggman."I guess I was just wrong..."_

_"What are you babbling about now Rodent?"Asked Eggman suspiciously, leaning forward in his chair towards Sonic._

_Sonic tried to resist the feeling to smirk."I'm just saying Eggman. I mean seriously, what kind of evil villain takes hostages? Then does the whole 'let's make a deal thing,?"Eggman opened his mouth to reply only for Sonic to interrupt him."A weak one, that's what."_

_Eggman growled at Sonic before pushing a button his control pad. The claw that was hovering near Eggman lowered to the ground before Knuckles was deposited onto the ground. Amy saw this and quickly ran over to Knuckles and began to check up on his main injury._

_"There we go Eggy! Your evilness just went up by one point!"Teased Sonic, smiling brightly at Eggman which caused him to frown deeply at Sonic._

_"Don't get so snarky with me Hedgehog! I only released the Echinda so I could do this!"_

_Eggman slammed his fist into control pad as the claw came alive like a snake and slithered towards Sonic at a high speed. Sonic jumped up in the air while the claw hit the spot where he was a second ago. Sonic smirked at this until the claw sprung from the ground and wrapped around him._

_"ARGH!"Screamed Sonic, tugging at the claw as it dug into his skin._

_"SONIC!"Hollered Amy as she began to get up from the ground and rush towards Sonic only to stop when the hedgehog began to yell at her._

_"NO!"Yelled Sonic, turning to Amy as best as he could."Grab Knuckles and take him to hospital Amy!"_

_"But what about you-"_

_"Don't worry about me!"Sonic gestured with his head towards the X-Tornado."Now go!"_

_Amy stared at Sonic with a slightly afraid look before gripping Knuckles underneath his armpits and began to try and drag Knuckles towards the X-Tornado. Chris, who was beside her, glanced at Sonic with worried eyes before reaching down and helping Amy tug Knuckles to the X-Tornado. Sonic watched this for a moment while keeping an eye out for Eggman who was typing like crazy on his control pad._

_"SONIC!"_

_Sonic looked over to the X-Tornado where Tails was leaning out of the side. Tails was looking at Sonic sadly as Amy and Chris began to load Knuckles into the back._

_"Sonic..."_

_"Go Tails!"Sonic waved at his hands at Tails desperately._

_"But Sonic-"_

_"GO!"_

_Tails gave Sonic one last look before leaning back in and starting up the X-Tornado. Tails then risked one more glance towards Sonic who was now busy trying to get out of the claw._

_"Be careful... big bro."_

* * *

Tails, Amy, and Chris all managed to get Knuckles to the hospital that day, but... Sonic was never seen again. At first it was a few hours then that stretched into days and then... weeks. After the first week, posters went up and news reports were seen around the world, announcing the Blue Blur's disappearance. All around the world, people began the great search for their missing hero with... no luck. Soon, some people officially gave up after 2 weeks and just announced Sonic dead. But Tails kept going.

He went around Station Square, asking citizens if they saw Sonic or, after he fixed up the X-Tornado, he went around to places he heard from Sonic's stories and looked for any signs of his brother, in case the hedgehog decided to go on a run after the battle without telling anyone. But every search came up... empty. One time, Tails even went to one of Eggman's bases in case the doctor had the hedgehog there only to find it totally empty.

Finally Tails just... stopped searching and allowed depression to kick in. He stopped inventing, working on the X-Tornado, and he even stopped going into the garage! Soon Tails stopped talking, he often distanced himself away from the others and, only talked to someone when they were talking to him. The others noticed this and often tried to get the fox to speak up. Amy even volunteered to work with Tails in the garage on the X-Tornado! But the fox only waved his hand at them and walked away when they tried to talk to him.

Then... Knuckles, who had spent his first few weeks out of the hospital on Angel Island at the time, came down to the Thorndyke's mansion and spent a few nights trying to get the fox to talk. Every now and then, Knuckles would traverse between Angel Island and the Thorndyke's mansion to comfort the fox.

Speaking of Knuckles, Tails turned to see the echinda walk into the kitchen, his left arm up in a sling. The echinda looked surprised to see Tails for a minute before regaining his composure."Why aren't you out there playing in the snow?"

Tails looked at Knuckles a bit and shrugged his shoulders."It's cold."

"Tails,"Knuckles walked over and placed a hand on the younger's shoulder,"moping around isn't going to just bring him back."

"Yeah, I know..."Tails shook Knuckles's hand off his shoulder before looking away from the echinda's stare."But it doesn't hurt."

Knuckles sighed at the fox. Tails could be aggravating when he wanted to. Just like... Sonic. Knuckles shook his head at the sudden thought that ran through his head. There was no time for that now."Tails you going to have to learn to let go."

"Maybe I don't want to let go yet."Said Tails as he walked around Knuckles and headed towards the door with his arms crossed.

"Tails, Sonic was my friend too, you know."Knuckles turned to Tails who was now staring at him with a frown on his face."In fact, you see the others outside? They were also Sonic's friend, but are they moping around?"

"No."Mumbled Tails, staring at his feet.

"Then why are you?"

"You don't understand Knuckles!"Tails looked up towards the said echinda with teary eyes."Sonic wasn't just my best friend! He was my older brother! He was the one who took me from South Island and cared for me when no one else did! He showed me things about me that I never knew about! He even taught me bravery and the meaning of never giving up, Knuckles! So why should I let him go when he taught me to be me?"

"Because,"Knuckles approached Tails with a serious look on his face,"I'm pretty sure that Sonic would want you to let him go. What is that thing he always says?"

Tails sighed as he began to wipe his eyes."Never let the past hold you down. If you do then you'll never move on in life."

Knuckles smiled lightly at Tails."Exactly."

Tails was silent until he ran towards Knuckles and wrapped his arms around the echinda's torso. Knuckles looked genuinely surprised for a minute before he embraced Tails who had began to cry.

"I-I d-d-don't want t-to f-forget Sonic."Hiccuped Tails, burying his face into Knuckles's chest.

"Tails..."Whispered Knuckles, pulling the fox off of his chest and staring into his teary baby blue eyes."I didn't mean that I wanted you to forget Sonic. I meant I wanted you to let go of him."

"H-How do you l-let g-go o-of someone w-who was al-always there?"Stuttered Tails, staring at Knuckles while he wiped the tears that continued to fall off his face.

Knuckles thought about this question for a moment until an answer popped into his head."There's no real way of doing that, Tails. But sometimes if you take it slow, it ends up getting easier and easier to let go."

Tails nodded at Knuckles as the echinda patted him on the shoulder. Tails smiled at the echinda before a thought popped into his head."K-Knuckles? What are you doing here?"

"Oh yeah."Said Knuckles."I used that Emerald Tracker you gave me and I found out that there's a Chaos Emerald in the deserts outside of Station Square."

"A C-Chaos Emerald? Really?"

"Well... as much as I hate to admit it... I'm not too sure."

"What!"Tails looked at Knuckles's with a shocked look, all signs of previous sadness forgotten."What do you mean you're not too sure?"

"Well... when your Emerald Tracker first detected that Chaos Energy signature, it was pretty... weak."Admitted Knuckles."And it kept flickering like it was going to just wink out. If your tracker wasn't so strong, I don't even think it would've showed up."

"Wait. Was that a compliment I heard?"Asked Tails, cupping a hand around his ear.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get to used to it, kid."

Tails smirked a bit at Knuckles who was rolling his eyes at the moment before getting back on topic of the conversation."Knuckles, you still didn't answer my question. Why are you here?"

"Oh yeah."Knuckles adjusted the sling on his left arm before continuing."I wanted to know if you wanted to come with me to find the emerald."

"No thank you!"Said Tails, waving his hands and backing away from Knuckles.

"Come on Kid! You've been moping around here for weeks!"Knuckles gestured around the mansion."Don'cha think its time to adventure outside and see the snow?"

"Maybe..."Mumbled Tails, looking away from Knuckles.

" _Maybe_? Ok, fine. I'm gonna count down to one and if you don't say yes... then I'll leave and find the emerald myself."Said Knuckles, awkwardly trying to cross his arm across his chest.

"Knuckles..."Began Tails, frowning at the echinda.

"Five."

"Come on Knuckles, you can't seriously-"

"Four."

"Knuckles, I'm not going to-"

"Three."

"Can you stop-"

"Two."

" _Knuckles-_ "

"One."

"OKAY! I'll go!"Screamed Tails, putting his hands up in surrender.

"Finally."Said Knuckles, smirking at Tails before walking out of the kitchen.

"Wait Knuckles!"Yelled Tails, rushing towards the echinda."How are we going to get there?"

"Well... we can either walk through the snow or..."

"We can take the X-Tornado."Finished Tails.

"Yep."Said Knuckles, walking towards the garage door.

"Hold on, Knuckles."Tails ran in front of the echinda with his hands out."I don't even have my-"

"Scarf?"Knuckles pulled out a blue scarf from behind his back and handed it to Tails.

Tails looked at Knuckles with a surprised look."How did you know?"

"You're an adventurer, Tails. And no adventurer can stay away from an adventure for long."Replied Knuckles, smiling at Tails who was still staring at the echinda in shock."Well come on!"

Tails blinked before following Knuckles who disappeared through the garage door.

* * *

_"Oh Knuckles, before I forget... why are we going after the Chaos Emerald?"_

_"Well, you never know when we might have another one of those alien invasions. Besides, the Master Emerald may be a little lonely without me."_

_"If that was some kind if pun to cheer me up... then it was pretty terrible."_

_"... Just start the plane, Fox."_

Tails looked at the snowflakes that stuck to the window in fascination. Tails had been stuck in the mansion so long that he hardly ever stepped out and saw the snow that fallen overnight. Knuckles, who was riding behind Tails, chuckled at the fox's reaction to the snow before allowing himself to think about the past events.

Knuckles was pretty shocked five weeks ago, when he awoke in the hospital without much memory of how he got there in the first place and a large cast covering his left arm. Luckily, Amy and Chris were able to remind Knuckles of all the events that happened while he was out. Tails, meanwhile, was looking out for Sonic in case the hedgehog managed to reach the hospital after the battle, but... the hedgehog never showed up. At first, Knuckles was pretty steamed at the hedgehog for allowing the kid to worry about him like that, but when the hedgehog didn't show up for days after that... then Knuckles realized that there was something was wrong.

Weeks soon passed and Knuckles, who was released from the hospital a long time ago, was resting near the Master Emerald on Angel Island when... a poster fluttered by. Knuckles managed to catch the poster before it flew off the island only to get the surprise of his life. On the poster was Sonic with the words 'missing' hovering above his head and a reward for his find below his picture.

After making sure the Master Emerald was safe, Knuckles hightailed it down to the Thorndyke's mansion to question everyone about the poster only to discover that everything wasn't exactly the same. When Knuckles reached the Thorndyke's mansion, he found everyone in the garage, surrounding Tails. Amy was talking to the fox about the X-Tornado while Tails seemed more interested with the grease-covered floor. When Amy paused in the middle of her sentence, Tails mumbled something underneath his breath before walking away. After some questioning, Knuckles found out from the others that Tails became distant ever since Sonic went missing and that they were trying their best to converse with the fox, but... he wouldn't give them the time of day!

Eventually, Knuckles was the one who ended up getting the fox to opened up a bit, but for a price... he had to stay by Tails's side. Whenever Knuckles tried to go back to Angel Island, Tails seemed to go into full whine mode and try to hold the echinda back! Finally Knuckles just decided to be by Tails's side so the fox wouldn't feel so-

"Knuckles!"Called Tails, snapping his fingers in the echinda's face.

Knuckles jumped before covering it up with a snarl."What Tails!?"

Tails backed from Knuckles with his ears pressed lightly against his head."I-I just wanted you to know that we-we're here."Tails then pointed outside the plane where snow mixed in with the sand of the desert and a few of the cactuses were covered in a thin line of snow.

"Oh... sorry about snapping at you, Tails."Apologized Knuckles, giving the fox a nervous smile.

"I-It's alright Knuckles."Tails gave Knuckles a ghost of a smile before turning around and messing with something on his communicator."I managed to scan the area with my built in emerald tracker on my communicator and... you're right. There's a weak energy signal radiating a few feet away from the X-Tornado."

"Then let's go look for it."

* * *

Knuckles trudged through the snow, grumbling about his bad decision to not wear boots. Tails giggled at this as he flew over Knuckles, causing the echinda to shake a fist at him.

"You could help me out here!"Shouted Knuckles, glaring up at the fox who continued to giggle.

"I could... but since when did you ask for help?"Asked Tails, smirking at the annoyed echinda when... a snowball smacked him in the face. Tails wiped the snow off of his face before frowning at the Knuckles who was clenching two snowballs in his hand.

"Since I could threaten you by shooting you out of the sky."Answered Knuckles. And with that, the echinda launched the two snowballs at Tails, only for the fox to duck out of the way at the last minute.

"If that's how you want to play,"Tails flew down close to the snow,"then at least play it right!"Tails then used his namesakes to propel all the snow below him onto Knuckles.

"Tails cut it out!"Screamed Knuckles, placing his hands up to stop the oncoming spray of snow. When the snow continued to fly, Knuckles ended getting covered up in snow."TAILS-Mph!"

Tails stopped spinning his namesakes and turned to look at the echinda only to break out in laughter. In front of Tails was a large snowman with two angry violet eyes, a black nose, and a frown on his face. Tails took off his scarf before placing it around the snowman's neck.

"There we go!"Giggled Tails, stepping back to admire his work.

The angry violet eyes seemed to bore into Tails's head as the snow melted from off of the snowman to reveal Knuckles underneath. Said echinda growled threateningly at Tails before taking off the scarf wrapped around his neck and throwing it at the fox's laughing face.

"That was not funny!"Growled Knuckles, glaring at Tails.

"I beg to differ!"Laughed Tails with tears flowing down his face.

Knuckles scooped up some snow, shoved it Tails's face, and walked around the fox as he began to choke on the snow."Let's just find the Chaos Emerald."

* * *

Knuckles pulled uncomfortably at the sling that held his left arm up, with a small grunt. Tails noticed this and looked up from the emerald tracker on his communicator.

"Are you okay, Knuckles?"

Knuckles adjusted the sling one more time before answering Tails."Yeah, this thing is just really annoying."

Tails reached over to Knuckles and smacked his hand away from the sling."But its also the thing that's keeping your arm from feeling like a dead weight."

Knuckles frowned at Tails for smacking his hand away, but otherwise nodded at the fox."Good point."

Tails rolled his eyes at Knuckles while keeping a smile hidden away from the echinda when... his communicator began to beep. Tails's eyes lit up as a excited smile slid across the fox's muzzle."Yes!"

Knuckles raised an eye-ridge at the excited fox."Please tell me that beeping is a good thing."

Tails looked at Knuckles like he was a complete dunce."Of course this is a good thing, Knuckles!"Tails began to walk which caused the beeping to grow louder and louder."It means we're getting closer to the Chaos Emerald!"

Knuckles looked at the direction the fox was walking in and sweat-dropped."Um... Tails?"

Unfortunately for Knuckles, Tails had started to break into a ramble."I have to admit Knuckles I... really didn't want to come along with you on this..."

"Tails."

"But... this actually isn't so bad-"

"Tails!"

"I mean, I kind of expected this to be really boring, but its actually pretty-"

"TAILS WATCH OUT!"

"Huh-WOAH!"Tails looked up just in time to avoid crashing into a pile of boulders that were stacked up in front of him. Tails stared at the rocks like they appeared out of nowhere as Knuckles came rushing up behind him.

"Hey Tails, are you alright?"Asked Knuckles, throwing Tails a worry look.

"Yeah, but..."Tails frowned as he pushed a button and looked back up at the boulders,"the Chaos Emerald is behind these boulders."Tails then turned towards Knuckles with a pleading look."Knuckles, do you think you can-"

"You bet I can!"Without any warning, Knuckles drew back his right hand and slammed it into the boulders. The boulders instantly smashed into pieces the moment, Knuckles's fist made contact which allowed the two boys to see what laid behind the rocks.

Tails gasped."Wow, its a-"

"Cave."Mumbled Knuckles.

In front of the two boys was a medium-sized cave that had a dark, narrow entryway that ended at a semi bright light. Tails began to walk towards the narrow entryway when Knuckles pulled him back.

"Wait Tails."Said Knuckles, observing the cave with narrow eyes.

"What Knuckles?"Asked Tails, giving the echinda a frown.

"Now that I'm closer to the Chaos Energy Signature... it feels... familiar. Like I felt it before. Maybe we should-"Knuckles stopped when Tails suddenly burst forward and ran down the narrow entryway."Tails!"

Knuckles rolled his eyes at Tails's behavior before he heard a scream."TAILS!"

Knuckles ran forward, slid through the narrow entryway, and headed towards the bright light. When Knuckles passed through the bright light, he found himself in a very small part of the cave with a crack in the roof that allowed in light and cold air, pieces of cacti that were strewn all over the cave floor, and a dark blob that laid in the middle of it. But Knuckles hardly paid any attention to this as ran over to Tails who, at the moment, had his back to him.

"Tails! There you are! You shouldn't just run off like a lunatic and-"Knuckles stopped when he saw Tails's trembling body."Tails?"

Instead of answering, Tails just pointed towards the black blob, lying on the cave floor."Is-Is t-that-"

Knuckles squinted his eyes."Sonic?"

* * *

Both Knuckles and Tails stared at the so-called 'black blob' lying on the cave floor. Before Knuckles could even react, Tails rushed forward and kneeled beside Sonic who was laying face-down on the cave floor. Knuckles frowned worriedly at this and called out Tails's name.

"Tails! You shouldn't go near him if he's..."Knuckles trailed off, unable to say the D word.

Tails seemed to understand what Knuckles was about to say for the fox turned around and gave the echinda a glare that clearly said 'don't you dare say that ever again' all over. This made Knuckles turn away from the heat of Tails's glare and towards the cacti and pieces of wood that laid strewn all over the cave floor.

' _Just what was Sonic doing here?_ 'Wondered Knuckles, picking up one of the cacti that was somehow peeled open.' _And why was he here in the first place?_ '

"KNUCKLES COME HERE!"Called Tails urgently, his voice slicing through Knuckles thoughts like a knife.

"Huh?"Knuckles dropped the cacti on the ground before rushing towards Tails and stood next to the fox."What Tails?"

"L-L-Look."Tails began to push Sonic's still form over to reveal the hedgehog's injuries.

All over Sonic's body were cuts, bruises that have turned a blackish purple, and few spines from the cacti were sticking out of his arms and legs. But the worst of all the injuries was... Sonic's leg. The hedgehog's leg had dried blood all around a large cut that started at Sonic's thigh and ended near his ankle. When you turned Sonic's leg just a bit to the right, you could almost see some of Sonic's bone sticking out.

Knuckles's eyes moved from Sonic's leg to the hedgehog's face which was a deep pasty color that rivaled the color of a pillow. Knuckles moved his hand over above Sonic's mouth where he waited... and waited... and just when he was about to announce to Tails that the hedgehog was gone... Knuckles felt a small amount of air brush against his glove. Knuckles' eyes lit up in both disbelief and happiness as he opened his mouth to give Tails the good news.

"Tails! Sonic's ali-"Knuckles was cut off in the middle of his sentence when he heard a gagging noise beside him. Knuckles looked over to Tails who was turned away from both Knuckles and Sonic, trying not to throw up on the ground. Knuckles moved forward and began to rub the poor fox's back, gently. Knuckles had forgotten that Tails was just a young fox and probably couldn't stand to stomach the large injury that Sonic somehow sustained.

So when Tails finally stopped gagging, Knuckles helped the fox to his feet before saying something important to him."Tails, go bring X-Tornado closer to the entrance of the cave and I'll stay here and watch Sonic."

Instead of rushing to get the X-Tornado, Tails just looked at Knuckles like he told him to smash his head into a wall."W-What? You mean, you want me to just leave my big bro when he may be dy-"

"JUST GO!"Snarled Knuckles, pushing Tails.

Tails threw Knuckles a glare before racing out of the cave, leaving both Knuckles and Sonic all alone. As soon as Knuckles didn't hear Tails's footsteps anymore, he began to gently, pick Sonic up bridal style, being careful of the hedgehog's mangled leg.

" _Don't worry, Sonic,_ "Whispered Knuckles, walking out of the cave room and heading towards the entrance where he heard the X-Tornado's engine.

" _I'll make sure nothing bad will happen to you._ "

* * *

Dr. Carmen at Station Square Hospital had seen many cases of injuries, diseases, and sometimes even mental problems. Even when Eggman started attacking the area, she thought she saw everything when many different people came in and out of the hospital from short to tall, young to old, or even famous to 'never heard of you' with injuries that range from minor to critical. But nothing prepared her for what happened that Christmas Eve.

Everything was fairly normal at the hospital and since Eggman hasn't attacked in weeks, the hospital was almost empty except for some youngsters who either caught a bad bug or went little too far when sledding down some of the hills in Station Square. But 'fairly normal' could never come even close to describing what happened next. Dr. Carmen was leafing through a file for a little girl who was checked into the hospital three months ago for some kind of lung disease and only a few weeks ago, she had to get a lung transplant. The poor girl was hoping to go home today, but... Dr. Carmen wasn't sure she was going to be able to leave. Dr. Carmen threw the file down on the desk before blowing a strand of black hair out of her face. If only she could find a way to cheer the little girl up...

Dr. Carmen jumped in the air when she heard the front door to the hospital slam open. She frowned and turned towards the culprits about to yell at them. There were people in the hospital who were resting after surgeries or being under heavy sedative! But, all thoughts of anger disappeared from Dr. Carmen's mind when she laid eyes on the culprits who were standing in the middle of the hospital.

Right there, a few feet away from Dr. Carmen were... Mobians. But, not just any Mobians! The Mobians that saved Earth countless times from Eggman's wrath! One Mobian was a small yellow fox who was trying his best not to panic while the other was busy looking around the hospital for something. Dr. Carmen recognized these Mobians as Miles "Tails" Prower and Knuckles the Echidna. But wait. Wasn't there that blue hedgehog named... Sonic! Dr. Carmen searched around the other two Mobians until she noticed a bluish form, lying unconscious and bleeding heavily in the echidna's arms.

' _Oh, Dear!_ ' Thought Dr. Carmen, rushing towards the heroes.

When Knuckles saw Dr. Carmen approaching, he began to growl underneath his breath. His growling stopped however when Tails placed a hand on his arm and gave him a shaky, but firm look. Knuckles huffed underneath his breath, but otherwise kept his cool when Dr. Carmen stood in front of them with concern on her face.

Dr. Carmen gave the Hero of Earth in Knuckles's arms a small glance before looking back up at the two Mobians. "What happened to him?"

Tails was waiting for Knuckles to answer, but when the echidna remained silent, he knew he had no choice but to speak up himself. "H-He was in an accident."

Dr. Carmen nodded as she gestured to some nurses who were passing by."Do you know what kind of accident he was in?"

Tails shook his head at Dr. Carmen. "No... w-we just found him lying in a cave-like this."

"Hmm..." Dr. Carmen turned and whispered something to the nurses who nodded at her and rushed away.

"What are they doing?" Demanded an angry voice as Dr. Carmen looked at Knuckles who was glaring at her.

Dr. Carmen cleared her throat before answering. "They're just going to get a stretcher to put your friend on."

And as if on cue, the nurses returned with a short yellow and back stretcher with small red rails. One of the nurses who was a tall, blond man approached Knuckles and began to reach for Sonic. Knuckles saw this and began to back up when Tails gripped his arm. Knuckles turned to glare at Tails only to be met with a bunch of tears running down the fox's face.

" _Let him go._ " Whispered Tails, motioning for Knuckles to allow the man to take Sonic.

At first, Knuckles looked unsure whether to do what Tails said, but when the fox continued to motion for him to let the male nurse take Sonic out of his hands... Knuckles stopped moving and allowed the male nurse to come closer to him. The male nurse nodded in appreciation before taking Sonic and placing him on the stretcher where the other nurses began to roll it down the hallway. Knuckles and Tails went to follow the nurses down the hallway when Dr. Carmen put out a hand to stop them.

"I'm sorry, but you can't follow us."

"WHAT!" Roared Knuckles, clenching his fist tightly.

Tails laid a hand on Knuckles to calm him down as he stared at Dr. Carmen."Why can't we follow?"

Dr. Carmen sighed before answering. "Well... your friend, Sonic has been injured... severely, by the looks of it. We're afraid he may have to receive surgery."

Tails gasped in shock while Knuckles crossed his arms and glared at Dr. Carmen. He already knew there was a possibility that Sonic would have to receive surgery."What do we do until Sonic's done with his surgery?"

"Well, you can wait in our waiting room until further notice, "Dr. Carmen pointed over to the little white room near the entrance of the hospital, "or you can-"

"We'll wait," interrupted Knuckles, causing Dr. Carmen to frown in his direction.

"Very well. We'll try to get Mr. Sonic the help he needs." And with that, Dr. Carmen turned and followed the nurses through the hallway.

Knuckles and Tails were left standing in the middle of the hospital with one question on their minds.

Will Sonic make it?


	2. not completely here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Knuckles. Really, I'm fine."
> 
> Knuckles scoffed. "Then turn around and look me in the eyes."
> 
> "Knuckles-"
> 
> "Turn around, Tails."
> 
> Tails sighed, briefly closing his eyes. With slight hesitation in his movements, he twisted around, staring at the echidna's multicolored shoes.
> 
> "Look me in the eyes, Tails."
> 
> Tails bit his lip. "I can't."
> 
> Knuckles rose an eye-ridge. "What was that?"
> 
> "I said I can't!" Exclaimed Tails, his bright blue eyes shooting up to meet own Knuckles' dark violet orbs. "T-the truth is I-I can't wrap my head around what's happened over the past month. W-with Sonic suddenly disappearing and t-then suddenly," he gestured to Sonic, tears gathering up in the corner of his eyes, " 'poof', reappearing looking like he was-" he gulped and stared at the floor, "like he was…"
> 
> "That's it, isn't it?" Knuckles took a few steps towards Tails, studying the fox's rigid posture. He hesitated halfway, noticing Tails' hand tightly clasping Sonic's own unmoving one. "You're afraid of the thought of him dying."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya, everyone! Welcome to the next chapter of my story! This is still an older chapter, so it'll be full of grammar issues here and there! But, still, I hope you guys enjoy and leave behind some reviews on what you thought of it!

He slumped into the hospital's gray dull cardboard-like chair, his hands- _shaky and unsteady-_ pressed up against his head.

Why was he still scared?

He could hear him. He could hear Knuckles practically right outside the door, trying with all his might to soften his voice as he spoke on an old rundown payphone. He could only imagine how the others - _on the other side of the line-_ would react to the 'good' news. They were probably all crowded around Chuck, jumping and cheering at the fact that everything was going to be fine. That they could 'smile' again. That they could 'laugh' again.

That they could stop _pretending_ to be happy.

So there was nothing left to fear.

His glassy eyes peeked out from behind his hands, focusing on the way _too_ bright sea of white before him where- _right smack in the middle of it-_ a speck of dull blue- _which looked so artificial that it just couldn't be real_ \- seemed to be drowning within its contents. Yet, the speck looked to be completely unconcerned for it laid in the midst of it, so _painfully_ peaceful.

So _unaware_.

Right?

* * *

_"Tails."_

_He smacked the large persistent hand away from his shoulder, mumbling a bunch of incoherent words underneath his breath. He heard a loud sigh of annoyance from somewhere above him and was glad when the hand didn't return. He nestled deeper into the mysteriously warm thing next to him and just as he was about to allow his mind to drift back into the dream world where everything seemed so real and so much better than reality when…_

_"Ah!"_

_His world flipped upside down and he suddenly found himself lying face down on the icy, cold floor, a groan slipping out from between his lips._

_"Hey, Kid,"_

_He blinked his eyes open, hissing at the bright lights that attacked his corneas. Twisting his head around, he then stared up at the smug echidna that sat behind him, his good arm holding the now crooked chair, the same one he was sitting in a moment ago, in his hand._

_"Are you awake now?"_

_He groaned in reply and kicked his foot out at the echidna's leg. He, unfortunately, missed when Knuckles moved his leg out of way, somehow knowing what he was thinking. Giving up the thought of revenge, for now at least, he stood to his feet and gave Knuckles a dry look._

_"Is there a reason," he yawned, unintentionally making himself look less threatening, " **why** you woke me up in such a matter?"_

_Knuckles smirked. "Because I enjoy hearing you shout like a little girl."_

_Tails blushed a light red, which seriously hard to hide when your muzzle was straight up `white. "Knuckles!"_

_Knuckles gave a low chuckle, waving his good hand at him. "I'm kidding. Well… not really." Tails frowned at him. "But, the real reason why I woke you up is that the doc's coming."_

_"The doctor…"_

_He blinked, realization dawning over his features. He had forgotten. Forgotten where he was. Forgotten what had happened only about five hours ago. And forgotten who it was that Knuckles had carried in like a fragile broken doll._

_"Yeah," Knuckles continued on as if he didn't notice the faraway look on his face. "Dr. Catherine or whatever her name is."_

_"It's Dr. Carmen."_

_Both Knuckles and Tails turned to their head towards the young brown-haired lady who wandered into the waiting room, stuffing two rubber gloves into the pocket of her lab coat._

_Knuckles shrugged his right shoulder, the other one remaining stiff, and leaned back into the torn red hospital chair, grimacing when he jostled his arm in the process. "Eh, close enough."_

_Dr. Carmen narrowed her eyes through her black-framed glasses, silently studying Knuckles' broken arm. "I bet that hurts, huh."_

_Knuckles fingered the strap on his sling, repositioning his arm a bit, and glanced at Dr. Carmen out of the corner of his eye. "It's fine. It only tingles every and then."_

_"Right. 'Tingle'." She took out a miniature clipboard and began to flip through some of the pages. "You know, it wouldn't 'tingle' so much if you hadn't left the hospital before you were discharged and given prescriptions for the 'tingle'."_

_Tails looked to the echidna for an explanation, but he refused to meet his eyes. Instead, he gripped the rubber handle on his chair and glared hard at the doctor._

_"We're here for **Sonic** ," He hissed. "Not me."_

_Dr. Carmen clicked her tongue. "Alrighty then." She fixed her glasses and studied the page currently on her clipboard. "Mr. Hedgehog's condition is-"_

_"I-It's Sonic."_

_"Excuse me?" She looked over the top of her glasses at Tails- who seemed to shrink underneath her stare-._

_He looked down at his feet, finding the shiny white floor to be the most interesting thing in the world. "It's just Sonic. He once told me that hated being called Mr. Hedgehog because it makes him feel old."_

_Dr. Carmen raised a brow, a smile gracing her lips. "Really? Well, I can't blame him. He seems to be the type that acts really mature for his age."_

_Knuckles smacked his hand hard on the chair handle, drawing the attention of both Tails and Dr. Carmen. "Can you just get to the point!" He narrowed his eyes. "Is he alive or not!"_

_"Knuckles!"_

_Knuckles paid no attention to Tails' shocked tone, instead choosing to glare heavily at Dr. Carmen. The doctor looked away from the heat of his glare and focused onto the chart in her hands. "Fine. He's alive."_

_Tails let a breath he didn't know he was holding, his shoulders slumping forward in relief. One part of him felt bad for doubting the likelihood of Sonic being alive. The hedgehog promised him that he'll be okay so, of course, he would be alive! Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed how some of the tension seemed to leave Knuckles' body at the news._

_It looks like, even if he wouldn't admit to it, that Tails wasn't the only one who was concerned for Sonic._

_"But-"_

_" 'But' what?" Snapped Knuckles, his entire body stiffening._

_Dr. Carmen frowned at the sudden interruption, but, nevertheless, she studied the information on the clipboard. "He suffered extreme damage to his leg, as you've probably noticed when you brought him in, which resulted in an open fracture."_

_"An open fracture?" Mumbled Knuckles, his voice sounding unusually quiet._

_Dr. Carmen nodded. "It' s when the bone-"_

_"I know what it is- just," he sighed, "please continue."_

_"Alright." Dr. Carmen flipped the page. "Other than his leg, his other injuries are pretty minor. He has some interesting pricks on his body from all those cactus needles that were sticking out of his skin, a few cuts and bruises, and, luckily, a minor infection."_

_"So," Tails glanced at her, his eyes bright and hopeful, "he's okay?"_

_She nodded, her expression blank. "Yes, but-"_

_"Then we can see him!" He all but shrieked, already taking a few steps towards the door._

_She nodded once more, seeming to fidget in her spot. "Yes, but you should-"_

_Tails pulled at Knuckles' good arm, trying to pull the echidna from his seat. "Come on, Knuckles! We have to-"_

_He paused mid-sentence when Knuckles suddenly grabbed his wrist, a grim look on his face. "Hold on, Tails." Tails' hand dropped away from Knuckles' arm as the echidna stood from his seat and stared Dr. Carmen directly in the eye. "There's something you're not telling us, isn't there?"_

_Dr. Carmen sighed sadly as she slipped the clipboard into her lab coat. "Yes. By the time your friend, Sonic was brought into surgery, he had lost about 3 pints of blood which, from the looks you're giving me, is quite the amount for a Mobian to lose. Luckily, with some of the information you two gave us, we were able to find a blood type that matched with Sonic's, but that wasn't until we were in the middle of the surgery, so…"_

_"So?" Whispered Tails, his voice weak._

_"So," Dr. Carmen gulped, "while we were waiting on the blood, Sonic was technically… dead for 1 minute and 45 seconds."_

_Tails' eyes widened in horror, disbelief passing over his features. Beside him, Knuckles clenched his fist clenched tightly at his side, his expression serious."What else?"_

_Dr. Carmen sighed. "After we restarted his heart, he managed to make it through surgery without any other difficulties. Even now, he's shows no sign of any-"_

_" **What's** ," his voice came out in a growl, " **wrong with him!?** "_

_This time, Tails made no move to correct Knuckles on his attitude. He, instead, chose to stand off to the side and wait to see what had become of his big brother, his hands trembling at his sides and his body tense._

_Dr. Carmen pushed up her glasses with a finger, her eyes focused on the ferocious look in Knuckles' violet eyes and the scared look in Tails' baby blue eyes. "Once again, yes. Combined with all of your friend's injuries, malnourishment, and his current state from the surgery, I'm afraid that Sonic is, well, currently in a-"_

* * *

**Coma.**

A simple four lettered word that seemed so small, yet could mean so much.

He dropped his shaky hands from his face, ignoring the wet splotches that were evident on the surface of his gloves. With his heart aching, he looked down at the hedgehog, his eyes hypnotized by the white bandages that were wrapped tightly against his head like a white cobra.

In this case… it meant the _world_.

He broke the trance and allowed his eyes to flicker over to the large clock that hung in the shadows along the wall, studying the large glow-in-the-dark numbers.

**8:30 p.m.**

He rubbed his eyes vigorously before he peered up at the clock once again, shock briefly passing over his features.

**5 hours.**

It seemed so _impossible_.

He leaned back against the chair, once again staring at the hedgehog next to him.

Only about 5 short hours ago, everything seemed so _different_.

5 hours ago, he was moping. 5 hours ago, he was crying. 5 hours ago, he was dreaming. 5 hours ago, he was told to forget. 5 hours ago, he was told to move on.

He reached out a hand towards Sonic. He hesitated mid-way, for a moment, afraid that the hedgehog might disappear before his very eyes like he was nothing but a dream. But, when nothing changed; when Sonic didn't vanish, he gingerly grabbed the hedgehog's ungloved, bandaged hand in his own, trying his best not to notice the lumpiness of the limb.

5 hours ago, he told himself that everything was _hopeless_.

He _hated_ this.

He studied the blank expression on Sonic's face, his eyes falling on the breathing mask strapped tightly to his face.

He hated the _silence_.

For as long as he has known Sonic, the hedgehog had never been known to be quiet. He was always the kind of person who defied the laws of silence with a corny joke, a laugh, or even a bright smile. Even when the hedgehog was asleep, like during those times when it used to be just the two of them, laying underneath the stars, he was always mumbling about flying chili dogs or just a bunch of incoherent words.

But this was _different_.

He gently squeezed Sonic's hand, hoping; wishing that the hedgehog would squeeze back to let him know that he was here. That he was _really_ okay. He couldn't quite stop the frown from spreading across his face when Sonic's hand remained limp.

Sonic's eyes were closed and he was breathing slowly, his chest rising up and down underneath the white blankets. To any oblivious person, it would almost simply look like the hedgehog was sleeping peacefully without a care in the world.

But, he _knew_ better.

The hedgehog was too quiet and too still to just be _asleep_. It was like he was completely _dead_ to the wires strapped to his body; to the stitches; to the gentle beat of the monitors; to his leg; to his hand in his.

To _him_.

**Squeak!**

His ears twitched at the sharp sound that sliced through the silence in the room. He turned his head away from Sonic's still body and instead focused his attention on the only other door in the room, besides the one that leads to the bathroom, as it slowly swung open, casting a steadily increasing stream of light into the dark room.

"Kid?"

Tails squinted his eyes through the harsh bright lights of the hallway, studying the red outline of the figure that stood at the door.

"Knuckles?"

"Yeah, it's me." Knuckles stepped into the room, gently pulling the door closed behind him. A soft click sounded from the door as he leaned up against it, his hand still on the doorknob. "So," he gave Tails a light smile, "how's it going?"

"It's going great." Tails gave him a smile in return, although it was significantly weaker than his usual bright smile. "Dr. Cameron said that, besides Sonic's coma, he should be completely fine in a few weeks-"

"That's not what I meant."

Tails frowned, a look of confusion on his face. "Huh?"

Knuckles sighed. "When I said 'how's it going' I meant 'how's it going' with _you_." He gestured with a shake of his head to Sonic, his eyes barely glancing at the hero's bandaged body. "I already know that Idiot's going to be okay."

Tails turned his head away from him, instead choosing to focus his eyes on the starry night sky outside the only window in the room. "I'm fine."

"You're lying." Knuckles crossed his arms, or at least the good one, across his chest, noticing the way Tails flinched at the accusation. "You're never able to look someone in the eyes when you tell a lie."

"Knuckles. _Really,_ I'm fine."

Knuckles scoffed. "Then turn around and look me in the eyes."

" _Knuckles_ -"

" _Turn around,_ Tails."

Tails sighed, briefly closing his eyes. With slight hesitation in his movements, he twisted around, staring at the echidna's multicolored shoes.

"Look me in the _eyes_ , Tails."

Tails bit his lip. " _I can't._ "

Knuckles rose an eye-ridge. "What was that?"

"I said I can't!" Exclaimed Tails, his bright blue eyes shooting up to meet own Knuckles' dark violet orbs. "T-the truth is I-I can't wrap my head around what's happened over the past month. W-with Sonic suddenly disappearing and t-then suddenly," he gestured to Sonic, tears gathering up in the corner of his eyes, " 'poof', _reappearing_ looking like he was-" he gulped and stared at the floor, "like he was…"

"That's it, isn't it?" Knuckles took a few steps towards Tails, studying the fox's rigid posture. He hesitated halfway, noticing Tails' hand tightly clasping Sonic's own unmoving one. "You're afraid of the _thought_ of him dying."

"News flash, Knuckles!" Tails squeezed his eyes shut. "He was already dead! For about a _minute_ and _45 seconds!_ "

"Was dead, Tails!" He approached Tails again, his voice soft, yet stern. "But now, he's not. Right now, he's _alive_ and _breathing_."

"But he could _stop_." Tails opened his eyes and stared concernedly at Sonic, tears rolling down his cheeks. "And then-" he choked, pressing his unoccupied hand to his face in a sad attempt to slow down the tears, "and then-"

"Tails," he placed a hand on his shoulder, "everything's going to be alright."

Knuckles mentally cursed himself for saying such words of false encouragement. The same exact words that, if Sonic was standing where he was, the hedgehog wouldn't waste a moment to say in a desperate attempt to keep the hope, no matter how small, alive.

The fox shook his hand off of his shoulder. "You don't know that!"

"You're right. I don't." Tails let out a sniffle, his big watery eyes now focused on Knuckles' softened features. "I don't know if that Hedgehog's heart is going to stop beating, if he'll stop breathing, or even if he'll never wake up again. But," he, once again, placed his hand on Tails' shoulder, mentally smiling when to himself when the fox didn't shake it off, "I _do_ know that in the past years since both you and I've known him, that Sonic has never let either of us down. No matter how bad things had gotten; no matter what happened; no matter how much the odds were stacked up against us, he never gave in."

"But this is _different_."

"Is it _really_ , Tails?"

Tails remained silent, tears still dripping down his chin. He stared at Sonic's hand in his for a moment, rubbing his thumb over the unnaturally pale peach skin. Then, without warning, he whirled his head around and leaned it against Knuckles' midsection, a sob tearing its way out of his throat.

"T-This is all my f-fault!"

Knuckles blinked, almost unsure of what to do. To think, he's been used to seeing Tails shed tears for the past month, but he could never wrap his head around why the kid would pick him, a loner who spent all of his life guarding the Master Emerald, out of everyone else to look towards for comfort.

He wrapped his arm, with slight hesitation, tightly around the fox, his bad arm's hand gently ruffling the kid's hair. "It's not your fault, Tails."

"Yes, it is!" He sniffled. "The w-way he is right now is all my f-fault!"

"For the love of-Tails, he's fine. You said so yourself a few minutes ago. And if you don't believe me then just listen."

Tails sniffled once again and turned his head so only the right side of his cheek rested on Knuckles', perking his ears.

 **Beep**.

His eyes flickered to the large monitor that stood tall next to Sonic's bed, towering over his suddenly small body like a mountain. The screen of the monitor showed three different colored lines that moved up and down similar to waves crashing against a shore. The thickest one, which was a bright green neon line, hopped up towards the top of the screen and, simultaneously, emitted a high pitched 'beep' about every 10 seconds.

"See? He's fine, Tails. And all because of the fact that you and I managed to get him here in time."

"Y-Yeah, I g-guess so." Tails allowed his gaze to wander towards Sonic's blank face. "But I can't help but feel like that m-maybe," he gulped, just barely managing to keep his tears under control, "just maybe if I hadn't left him behind to fight Eggman alone, he wouldn't be like this."

Knuckles sighed, patting Tails' head softly. "I can understand how you feel, Kid, but there was nothing you could've done."

Tails looked up at Knuckles, his misty blue eyes big. "Yes, there was! M-Maybe I could've convinced him to come with us o-or I could've stayed with him-"

Knuckles raised an eye-ridge. "Do you honestly believe that Sonic would've allowed you to stay with him? Mister I' _ve-got-this-all-on-my-own_?"

Tails shook his head, rubbing his eyes. "No…"

"You know, you're not the only one who feels like they could've done something differently that day." Tails sniffled underneath him. "How about Amy, Cream, or Chris? Don't you think that even _right now_ they could still be feeling like they could've done something to prevent this all from happening in the first place?"

"Well-"

"Or what about me? Couldn't I have done something?"

" _No_!" Exclaimed Tails, sharply. He looked away from Knuckles' questioning stare. "You were _h-hurt_ and _unconscious_. There _wasn't_ \- there wasn't anything you could've done."

" _Exactly_. So, why are you blaming yourself for something that none of us could've prevented?"

"I-I don't know."

"If you don't know then why are you so hung up on it? Why don't you just move on-"

" B-Because I already did." Tails rubbed at his nose, his bottom lip quivering. "After a whole month of waiting; of hoping; of dreaming; of believing; that he was alive, I finally decided to move on. To stop thinking about how _maybe-_ just maybe he could be alive somewhere- _anywhere_ \- and was waiting for someone to find him." A couple of tears dripped down his face as he stared pitifully up at Knuckles. "I-I gave up on _him_."

Knuckles tightened his grip around the kid's shaking body as the kid buried his face in his midsection again. "No, you didn't, Kid. I'm the one who told you to let go. If _anything_ I'm the one who gave up on him."

Tails remained silent at his words, seeming to neither agree or disagree with his statement. Then, suddenly, without any warning, Tails ripped himself away from Knuckles' arms and whirled around, his eyes wide and unstaring at his hand, which was still cupping Sonic's hand, like he saw a ghost.

Knuckles raised an eye-ridge in confusion. "Uh, Kid? What's-"

"It's Sonic." Tails murmured. "He-He _squeezed_ my hand."

" _What?_ " Knuckles hurried over to Sonic's bedside, following Tails' gaze to both his and Sonic's hands. "Are you sure?"

"I-I'm pretty sure. I mean- I felt _it_."

Knuckles drew his attention to Sonic's face, his eyes studying the hedgehog's facial expression for any change. "But that's _impossible_. He's in a _coma_ -"

Tails suddenly gasped, making Knuckles practically give himself whiplash to look towards him as he jumped in his seat. " _Knuckles_. He-He did it again. He squeezed my hand _again_."

Knuckles narrowed his eyes, disbelief passing over his features. "But how-"

A groan interrupted Knuckles in the middle of his sentence, making both him and Tails freeze. Simultaneously, they both turned their heads to Sonic, their eyes wide as they watched the hedgehog's face twitch and shift.

"Is he-"

"Looks like it." Replied Knuckles, a small smile crossing his face.

"But, Dr. Carmen said that he wouldn't wake up for weeks o-or maybe even _months_."

"Guess she doesn't know the Idiot as well as we do."

The corners of Tails' mouth twitched at the comment in a desperation attempt to prevent himself from smiling, which, in Knuckles' book, was a small victory. They both soon fell into silence, watching Sonic twitch and, seemingly, struggle to wake up. Tails fidgeted in his seat, practically flinching every time Sonic squeezed his hand while Knuckles stood, arms somewhat crossed and a look of anticipation on his face.

After a minute of observing the hedgehog, they both found themselves practically holding their breaths when his eyes started to flutter slowly, at first, but then more rapidly over time. Finally, with one last groan, Sonic managed to peel his eyes open, revealing his emerald eyes which, at the moment, looked dangerously close to being a lime green and seemed extremely dazed and tired.

"Sonic?" Squeaked Tails, his tone hesitant.

The hedgehog's head rolled weakly towards the direction of Tails' voice. Once his eyes landed on the fox's own wide-eyed stare, the dazed look embedded in them seemed to lessen a bit as a loopy smile crossed his lips. "H-Hey Tails." He slurred, his voice quiet and hoarse.

Knuckles literally had to bite his lip to prevent a gasp from slipping out when Tails smiled- _genuinely smiled-_ right back at the hedgehog, his blue eyes becoming misty again. "Hey, Sonic. How do you feel?"

Sonic blinked slowly, his brow furrowing at the question almost as if he was trying to think on how to answer the world's most difficult question. Finally, he just shrugged his shoulders, a slight grimace appearing on his face at the action. "I-I don't know. I-I guess I feel kind of w-weird."

Tails frowned, concern splattered across his face. "Are you in pain?"

Sonic shook his head. "No." He let out a rough cough which, although he was oblivious to it, made Tails flinch. "N-Not really."

Tails' frown deepened considerably. He found himself torn on whether or not he should believe Sonic, especially when the hedgehog had a record of hiding his pain. "Alright." The hedgehog blinked up at him. "If you _do_ start to feel absolutely any kind of pain then tell me and I'll get a doctor, okay?"

"Huh?" Sonic tilted his head to the side, confusion evident in his expression. "W-Why would I n-need a doctor?"

Tails mimicked his expression. "Because you're-"

" _Tails_."

The said fox twisted his head to the echidna. He had almost forgotten that he was still in the room. "But-"

His mouth slammed shut when Knuckles threw him a warning glance.

Sonic, oblivious to the sudden tension in the room, shifted his head to the direction of the echidna's voice, the loopy smile that was on his face earlier, returning in an increased size when his eyes landed on him. "Oh, it's you, K-Knuckles. How l-long have you've been s-standing there?"

"Long enough, Hedgehog." He grunted out, leaning against the side of Tails' chair. "Now, I've got a question for you. Do you know where you are right now?"

Sonic froze at the question, his smile seeming to melt before Knuckles' eyes. "Uh… A-Aren't we at C-Chris' house?"

Knuckles shook his head. "No, we're currently at Central Station Square Hospital-"

" _Hospital_!" Sonic's hoarse voice cracked, making him nearly choke on his words. "H-How and w-when did I-"

"Me and Tails brought you in about-" he twisted his neck to look at the clock that hung along the wall, "six hours ago. We found you out in the desert in some kind of ca- _Hey_!"

Sonic, suddenly, forced himself up in an upright position, his arms quivering underneath him as they struggled to support him. Knuckles leaned forward, both hands outstretched to push the hedgehog back down while Tails sat frozen in his chair.

"Lay _back_ , Idiot! You're going to _hurt_ yourself-"

" _No!_ " Exclaimed Sonic, gritting his teeth against the pain. "I-I don't w-want to be _h-here_!"

"I don't _care_!" Roared Knuckles.

"I _do_ -"

Sonic was forced to stop mid-sentence when his breath hitched before he fell into a strong coughing fit. It was like all his limited strength suddenly disappeared as Sonic's arms went limp and he pitched forward. Knuckles reacted by quickly putting his arm around the hedgehog and allowing him to lean on his side. His heart dropped to the pit of his stomach when Sonic practically collapsed on him _-him_ the hedgehog who barely ever accepted help- and continued to cough relentlessly, his skin feeling feverish even though his thick gloves.

Knuckles turned his head to look at Tails who was currently staring, wide-eyed, at Sonic. "Tails."

The fox continued to stare like he was in some hypnotic state, his body trembling.

" _Tails_! Snap out of it!"

This time, he flinched, teary blue eyes meeting urgent violet ones. "Y-yeah?"

"I need you to get Dr. Carmen, _now_!"

"But-"

"Now, Tails!"

He flew out of his chair at Knuckles' strict tone, nodding his head up and down like a broken bobble-head. Without another word, he practically started to race to the door, his heart beating out of tempo. He was halfway across the room when-

" _No_."

He paused mid-stride, panting as he had just ran a marathon when really all he had done was walk a couple of steps. He twisted his neck back to Knuckles -who was glaring down at the hedgehog- and Sonic- who was still coughing vigorously-.

"Ignore him, Tails." Knuckles huffed, patting the hedgehog on the back. "Go get the doctor-"

" _No_." Sonic choked out, the word sounding more like a wheeze than an actual word.

" _Sonic_ -"

" _Please_."

Knuckles stiffened at the plead, his jaw tight and his face grim. His eyes briefly flickered to Tails who still stood in the same spot, tears rolling down his face. He glanced right back at Knuckles, silently asking what to do now. Knuckles sighed and glanced at Sonic, the hedgehog's coughs still going strong.

"Think you can control your coughing?"

Sonic nodded weakly, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Then prove it."

In response to the unintentional challenge, Sonic drew in a deep breath and wheezed it out, causing his breathing mask-which was currently doing absolutely nothing to help him- to fog up. He repeated the process several times in a row until his coughs dissipated and left nothing behind, but wheezes and breathless gasps.

"Can you breathe?"

Again, Sonic nodded his head. "... _Y-Yeah._ " He squeaked, his breathing sounding similar to a deflating balloon.

"Good. Now, I'm going to lean you back, alright?" He received a weak whisper of approval and, without any word, he gently leaned the hedgehog back into the bed, his frown deepening when Sonic practically fell limp in his arm.

Sonic groaned in relief as soon as his body touched the mattress, his eyes briefly closing.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Sonic peeled his eyelids open and stared, exhaustedly, up at him, noticing the blank expression on his face. "You're injured and _hurt_ and you can barely even sit up without toppling over. Yet, you want to leave."

Sonic's chest heaved up and down as his wheezes slowly calmed down, his teeth gritted at the pain that slithered down his body. Nostrils flaring, he opened his mouth to speak to him when Knuckles cut him off.

"I don't want to hear your excuses." He huffed. "If you know what's best for you, you'll stay in the hospital." When Sonic seemed unconvinced, he added in a lower voice, "At least do it for Tails."

Sonic's eyes widened at the request, his pale green orbs studying the stoic expression on the echidna's face. His eyes flickered away from him and, instead, turned their attention on the unusually quiet fox, allowing teary blue to meet with pale green. He soon became hypnotized to the big, fat tears that rolled down the fox's face, his desire to leave suddenly wavering.

"T-Tails." He whispered, his heart aching when Tails tensed up at the sound of his wobbly voice.

"Y-yeah, Sonic?"

"C-Come m'ere."

Tails stared hard at him in confusion as if he was pondering why on Earth, Sonic would want him to come closer. Nevertheless, he gave the hedgehog a timid nod and practically tiptoed it over to his bedside, oblivious to Knuckles, who moved out of the way once he made sure Sonic was stable and settled himself down in his seat.

"Ok, I-I'm here, Sonic." He murmured, quietly. "What do you-"

"Y-You're cryin'."

Tails gulped heavily and plastered a small smile on his face, lifting his arm up, like some kind of shield, to wipe away the tears. "I am, aren't I?"

His arm paused mid-wipe when a hand suddenly grabbed his elbow and forced it away from his face. He blinked in surprise at the interruption and peered down at the culprit, who gave him a look that easily sliced through his façade.

" _Tails_."

He scrunched up his face, barely managing to suppress a sob as he looked away from the hedgehog. "I'm sorry."

Suddenly, without an warning, Tails found himself being pulled down towards the hedgehog. He opened his mouth to say something when Sonic wrapped his arms around him, hugging him close to his body. Tails froze, almost at lost at what to do until his mind reminded him to respond by hugging the hedgehog back. Although, he couldn't help but hug the hedgehog gently like he was a porcelain doll.

"I'm so sorry, Sonic." He mumbled, burying his head into the hedgehog's chest as his tears once again made a reappearance. "This all m-my fault. I should've d-done something- _anything_ to stop all of this from ever happening. Then m-maybe-" he choked on a sob, " _maybe_ you- I- we wouldn't be like this right now. Just _m-maybe_ you wouldn't have disappeared for an m-month and everyone wouldn't act so _f-fake-"_

"T-Tails." He peeled his face away from Sonic's chest to stare him up in the face. The hedgehog's face was completely pale and his eyes were still somewhat unfocused, yet he was somehow able to give him a serious expression. "L-let it go."

"B-but you were g-gone for a month." He sniffled. "And we all t-thought you were dead. I-I thought you were dead-"

"B-but I'm not. I'm sitting r-right here in front o-of you, a-aren't I?" Tails nodded. "T-Then I'm alive. And I'm g-going to stay t-that way for q-quite awhile."

Tails' eyes widened, hope shining with their blue depths. "Promise?"

"I-I promise."

* * *

**Bonus**

* * *

"H-How long?"

He opened his eyes and shifted his neck, ignoring the sharp **crack** that followed shortly afterwards, before he looked towards Sonic. He was currently sitting upright and leaning up against the wall, a hand rubbing the head of Tails, who was curled up in the bed alongside him, his head in Sonic's lap and soft snores escaping his lips.

"What?" He yawned, tiredly. Maybe taking a nap in a hospital chair wasn't the best idea in the world…

"H-How long-" he stifled a cough, "have I've been gone."

Knuckles leaned back in his chair. "About a month."

"A month?" Sonic murmured, fingering one of Tails' bangs which, in turn, caused the fox to sigh in his sleep. "I thought I was gone for about a w-week or two." He looked down at Tails. "How… How everyone else while I was gone."

Knuckles gave a one-shouldered shrug. "They were okay, I guess. I mean, Amy became an overprotective neatfreak, Cream barely picks flowers anymore, Chris became pretty depressed and started to fall back in his schoolwork, Chuck and Ella like to pretend like everything's okay, Vanilla barely smiles anymore, and Tails- well," he gestured to the fox, "you know."

He sighed. "Y-Yeah. I know." Suddenly, his eyes flicked to the echidna's. "W-What about you?"

Knuckles rose an eye-ridge. "What about me?"

"How were you while I-I was gone. I-I mean, your a-arm's still broken."

" _And_?"

"Well, shouldn't it h-have healed by now?"

Knuckles looked away from him and, instead, focused on the said appendage. "Yeah, well there were some complications."

Sonic tilted his head. "Was i-it Eggman?"

"No- _wait-_ " Knuckles leaned forward, disbelief on his expression, "do you mean he's _still_ alive?!"

Sonic scratched his head. "Well, y-yeah, I think so."

"You _think_ so?!"

" _Hey_ , cut me some s-slack!" His voice cracked in an unsettling way as he scratched at the bandage wrapped tightly round his head."I can barely even remember what happened after Tails took y-you to the hospital."

Knuckles smacked Sonic's hand away from the bandages, making the hedgehog yelp out in pain. "Stop _messing_ with your bandages!"

Sonic rubbed the offended limb, his signature pout on his face. "But, it _i-itches!_ "

"I don't care. Leave it _alone_." A look of realization rushed over Knuckles' face, making him face-palm. "Oh great." He mumbled underneath his breath. "Now, I sound like the _kid_."

"What-"

" _Nothing_."

Sonic rose an eye-ridge at him but otherwise didn't say a word. He quietly pulled the hospital's thin white blankets up to Tails' chin when he started to squirm underneath him. "S-So… why didn't you use the Master Emerald to h-heal yourself?"

Knuckles rolled his eyes. Go figure that the hedgehog would be more concerned about someone else rather than himself. "Well, like I said, there was some complications and I was never really able to stay _long_ on Angel Island."

"What kind of complications?"

Knuckles looked away from Sonic and focused his gaze on Tails' snoozing form. "What do you think?"

Sonic followed his gaze. "Oh."

" _Stop_ it."

Sonic focused his attention on Knuckles, a look of confusion overtaking his features. "Stop w-what?"

Knuckles frowned. "Stop _blaming_ yourself."

"I-I didn't say I was-"

"I can see it in your _freaking_ eyes, Sonic!" His statement rang even more truthful when Sonic looked away. "We both know there was absolutely _nothing_ you could've done to prevent any of this from happening-"

"I-I know that." Sonic retorted. "But that doesn't mean I can't _help_ , but feel that I c-could've done something _differently_ so you guys wouldn't h-have had to go through e-everything that you did."

Knuckles buried his face in his hand. "Geez, it's like you and Tails are _twins_ or something. _For the love of Chaos, Sonic!_ Suck it _up_! Take your _own_ advice for once and let it _go!_ Instead of thinking about something that happened _over_ a month ago, you should be happy about the fact that you're _alive_."

Sonic swallowed, his throat feeling suddenly very dry. "Sorry."

"You don't have anything to be sorry about."

Silence soon followed between the two of them; the both of them at that point merely listening to the gentle beep of Sonic's monitor and Tails' airy snores. Knuckles took this moment of peace to look up at the clock, squinting his eyes to see the neon green numbers.

**11:50**

"D-Did they-" Knuckles peered at him, noticing the way he averted his eyes from him and, instead, choosing to stare ahead at some unforeseen object, "you know- have a f-funer-"

"Yep." The word was short and blunt, his tone nonchalant. Nevertheless, he could see the hedgehog's body tense, his hand frozen in the middle of Tails' bangs. "They had it Downtown in the park."

"D-Did you-" Sonic paused to cough into his hand, though, to Knuckles, it seemed fake, "did you go?"

"No."

This time, Sonic's eyes found his and for a moment, Knuckles swore he saw relief in those green orbs of his before he looked away again.

"Why?"

Knuckles shrugged. "Kid didn't want to go. Said he still believed that you were alive."

Sonic nodded, seemingly accepting the answer. He swallowed thickly before saying, "Do you k-know if there was a g-grave?"

"No. Why make one when there was nothing to bury. But," he smirked, "they did make you a statue."

Sonic quirked an eye-ridge. "Really? A _s-statue_?" He smiled at the thought, a sigh escaping his lips. "I always wanted a s-statue."

"I don't find that hard to believe."

" _Hey_!" He leaned forward and gave the echidna a stern look; though, due to the large smile crossing his face, it didn't exactly have the desired effect. "W-What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"I think we both know what that means."

"Hmph." He slumped back up against the wall, a pout on his face.

Knuckles rolled his eyes at the expression, struggling to prevent a smile from overtaking his lips.

After about a minute of pouting, Sonic found his concentration being broken when a yawn slipped through his defenses and out his lips.

"You tired?"

He glanced at Knuckles and shook his head. " _No_ -"

His sentence was interrupted by the betrayal of yet another yawn, tearing his lips apart. Once he gained control of his mouth, he looked to Knuckles, who gave him a raised eye-ridge.

"O-Okay." He smacked his lips. "So, maybe I'm a _little_ t-tired."

"Sure, you are." Knuckles gestured to the bed. "Why don't you just go to sleep? I mean you did just wake up from a coma-"

" _No t-thanks_."

Knuckles frowned. "Can I ask why?"

Sonic shrugged. "I-I just don't want to."

"So, you're telling me that you're _tired_ , but you don't want to go to sleep because you _just_ don't want to?"

Sonic nodded, fingering the IV that taped to his hand. "P-Pretty much- _ow_!" He yelped, glaring hard at Knuckles as he vigorously rubbed his stinging hand. "Can you stop _s-slapping_ me! I'm _injured_ , you k-know."

"Will you go to sleep?"

" _No_."

"Than _no_."

" _Fine_." He huffed. "I'll go to-" he yawned, "sleep. But, only because you're _f-forcing_ me to l-like I'm _five_ years old."

"Sure," he rolled his eyes, "whatever makes you sleep better."

Sonic gave him a dry look. "You k-know, your eyes can get stuck l-like that one day. Then it'll be nearly i-impossible to protect your rock w-when Eggman tries to use y-your gubility against you."

" _Hedgehog_ , if you don't go to sleep right _now_ ," he cracked his namesakes, "I'll _force_ you to go to sleep."

He put his hands in the air. "O-Okay, okay." Then, underneath his breath, he added, "Geez what's with e-echidnas and being _rude_ to the i-injured."

" _Sonic_."

" _A-Alright_ , I'm going to s-sleep."

And, without another word, Sonic gently lifted Tails' head from his lap, ignoring the slight whimper he heard slip out of the fox's lips at the action, and deposited it on the pillow next to him. Knuckles rose out of his seat and helped him reposition Tails onto the bed, which was unsurprisingly simple since the bed was made for a regular-sized human.

After he pulled the covers up to Tails' chin, Sonic accepted Knuckles' help, but not without grumbling about it, and gingerly lowered himself into the bed, successfully managing to cover up a grimace that the action caused. Once he was laying on his side, he stared up at Knuckles, who, in return, looked down at him expectantly.

"W-What?"

Knuckles sighed. "Close your eyes."

Sonic gave him an expression of fake innocent confusion, which, in return, made Knuckles frown. Sonic finally gave up the act and closed his eyes, exhaling deeply through his nose. Knuckles watched him a while, curious to see whether or not the hedgehog was faking. After about a minute, he noticed Sonic's chest seemed to rise and fall at a slower, almost steady rhythm.

Satisfied, Knuckles stretched his back, wincing when a crack resounded from it. His eyes suddenly strayed to the door and a thoughtful look crossed his features.

 _Maybe I should call the others and tell them the good news. Though,_ he frowned, rubbing a hand on his muzzle, _I rather not deal with Amy and her hammer later if I end up waking her._

Nevertheless, Knuckles took one last glance at the two sleeping brothers, who were practically cuddled together- _oh, how he wished he had a camera_ \- before he stepped towards the door, cringing when his shoes squeaked against bright white floor. He twisted his head and looked back to the bed, biting his lip to prevent a sigh of relief from making it's way out when neither of the sleeping duo seemed to respond to the sound.

He turned back to the door and took another step forward only to pause mid-step when something reached out and grabbed his wrist. He turned his head and looked eye-to-eye with Sonic, who peered blearily up at him.

" _Sonic_ , what are you-"

"D-don't go." His voice quiet and seemed to have regained the slur from earlier, making Knuckles wonder whether the hedgehog was just incredibly tired or 'drunk' on medicine.

" _Sonic_ -"

 _"P-please_. I don't w-want you to g-go yet."

He exhaled deeply through his nose and stared at the sleepy expression on Sonic's face.

One part of him, the smaller part, wanted to shake the hedgehog's hand off and walk out the door. But, the other part, and apparently the bigger part, couldn't help but make his heart soften at the plead.

So, with a sigh, he turned back to his seat and plopped back into his chair. Sonic's hand dropped from his wrist and he gave Knuckles a loopy grin.

" _Alright_." He leaned back in his seat. "I'm not going anywhere. Now, go back to sleep."

Sonic nodded and yawned, his eyelids drooping. "G-Goodnight, Rad Red."

Knuckles sucked in a deep breath at the nickname, his eyes wide. He opened his mouth to ask him question on it only to close it shut when he discovered that the hedgehog had already fallen sleep, his breathing slightly wheezy.

Knuckles ran a hand down his face, peering at the hedgehog from the corner of his eye. Then, for only about a second, he smiled down at him. "Goodnight, True Blue."

The nickname felt foreign rolling off of his tongue. It had been possibly months- _most likely years_ \- since he'd said that to the hedgehog. And it's been about that much time since the hedgehog ever said back to him. And... he kind of _missed_ it.

He sat up straight in his chair when Sonic suddenly turned in his sleep and, possibly unconsciously, wrapped an arm around Tails, pulling the fox close to him. He rolled his eyes- just barely managing to ignore the hedgehog's voice in the back of his head- and smirked at the sight.

It was no _lie_. He honestly missed the spikeball.

He missed his cheesy one-liners; his teasing grins; his annoying voice; his contagious laugh; his overprotective nature; his idiocy; his naivety.

But, it's not like he'll ever _tell_ the hedgehog that.

**Ding.**

He, once again, found his attention being drawn to the clock, noting what the direction the big hand and the little hand was pointing in.

**12:00**

He smirked and awkwardly crossed his arms, settling back into his seat.

It was **December 25.**

 _Christmas_.

He looked to Tails, who was curled up to Sonic's side, his face once again buried in the hedgehog's chest.

 _0Looks like you were right, Kid._ Knuckles smiled. _Sorry for doubting you._

He exhaled deeply through his nose and leaned his head up against the head of the chair, silently watching the two brothers sleep for a moment longer.

This is going to be one _interesting_ Christmas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's it for now! Hope you guys enjoyed it! Until next time!


	3. Christmas Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knuckles' brow rose at this information, and he slowly nodded in understanding. He could imagine being completely freaked out as well if Sonic had suddenly gone from being stable to flat-lining. Although, Dr. Carmen probably had it worse; her patient - especially one as rare and famous as Sonic - suddenly flat-lines out of nowhere. He could only imagine what she had to be thinking at the moment.
> 
> "I had to use the bathroom." Sonic insisted, weakly. At some point during the 'story', Sonic had pulled himself up on his elbows.
> 
> Beside him, Knuckles heard Tails stifle a chuckle behind his hand at Sonic's pathetic rebuttal. Even Knuckles fought to keep a smile from appearing on his face.
> 
> Dr. Carmen, on the other hand, was not amused. She turned her attention to Sonic and pointed a stern finger at him. "Then, you press the call button, and I would've come and disconnected you, myself. Or, you've used the bed-"
> 
> "Nope!" Sonic yelled, not even giving her a chance to finish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the latest chapter! I hope you guys enjoy it and leave behind reviews on what you thought!

"Do you think he'll be surprised?"

He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the fidgety bundle of fur that seemed to practically skip beside him, pushing a medium-sized wheelchair that seemed almost a little too tall for him. He had offered to take the wheelchair off of the fox's hands for him, only to receive a double-dose of puppy-dog eyes in return. Honestly, it was as if Tails' attitude had done a complete 180; ever since they'd seen Sonic, it seemed the fox was all sugary, bright smiles that were so sweet that he truly feared the kid might give himself cavities.

In fact, Knuckles even found himself starting to smile; the kid's cheery smile becoming undeniably contagious. Satisfied that Tails was happy for the moment, Knuckles allowed himself to relax a little, and a low chuckle burst out of his mouth.

"Not if you keep jumping around like that, Tails."

Tails instantly blushed, the bright red cherry color spreading quickly across his face. He stopped skipping and, instead, slowed down to a quick walk, allowing Knuckles to catch up to him. "Sorry," he murmured once the echidna was by his side, smiling sheepishly. "I'm just a little excited."

Knuckles rose an eyebrow, smiling. "A little?"

Tails chuckled shyly, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. The small action distinctly reminded Knuckles of Sonic; that hedgehog was really rubbing off on the kid. "Ok. Maybe, I'm a lot excited." Tails' blush deepened when Knuckles rolled his eyes. "It's just that it's been so long since I've seen Sonic and-"

"Kid," Knuckles objected. "You just saw him a few hours ago."

"I-I know that." Tails' sky blue eyes snapped away from Knuckles' own purple orbs, and he focused on the white walls of the hospital. "But, that's not what I meant."

Knuckles felt the sweet, cheerful atmosphere that hovered around the two of them abruptly turn sour, and the memories of the last twenty-four hours prickled unpleasantly in the back of his mind.

"Tails," Knuckles started, concerned. Because, after being a part of this group of crazed lunatics for so long, he's learned that unless you talked things out now, then you run the risk of things getting worse later on. "We've talked about this."

"I know. And, I'm sorry, okay." Unconsciously, Tails began to walk forward faster, easily pulling ahead of Knuckles. "I know we've been over this."

Knuckles' eyes moved away from Tails and, instead, focused on something in the distance. "Tails?"

However, Tails merely continued on rambling as if he hadn't heard the echidna's insistent tone. "But, I can't help but feel as if something else might wrong at any minute."

Knuckles increased his pace, hurrying to catch up with the distracted fox. "Tails."

Tails' hands tightened on the handles of the large wheelchair. "And, I don't know what I'll do if something else happens to Sonic-"

"Tails!" A large hand clamped down on Tails' shoulder, effectively cutting off the rest of his sentence. " _Watch out_!"

Knuckles pulled Tails back and out of the intersection of the white-and-green hallway, drawing a small yelp of surprise from the young fox. Barely a split-second later, a small team of paramedics and nurses stampeded through where Tails was previously standing, pushing a familiar yellow-and-black gurney with an unidentifiable figure on top. Just as quickly as they appeared, the paramedics and nurses were gone, leaving Knuckles and Tails standing in the hallway. They both stood there for a few seconds, both strangely out of breath, before Knuckles peeled his hand off of Tails' shoulder.

"Wow, two-for-two," Knuckles said, breathlessly, his uninjured hand re-adjusting the strap of his sling. That little stunt had pulled at his arm in an uncomfortable manner. "You really gotta watch where you're going, kid."

Tails sniffed quietly, and Knuckles was suddenly aware of the tears in the young fox's eyes. "I'm sorry."

Knuckles sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. He then took a step forward, looking both ways down the intersection, and gestured for Tails to follow him. "And you really need to stop saying sorry."

"Sorry," Tails said again, rubbing at his eyes.

Knuckles breathed deeply through his nose. He briefly considered reprimanding Tails for, once again, apologizing for something he couldn't help but he decided against it. Instead, Knuckles reached over, wrapped his left arm around Tails' unnaturally tense shoulders, and pulled the fox close to him. Tails jumped at the surprisingly gentle touch from the echidna, and he looked up at Knuckles with cloudy eyes.

"Look, Tails," Knuckles paused, unsure on how to properly voice what he was thinking. He wasn't exactly good with pep talks; that was more in Amy or Sonic's department. But, neither of them was there right now. "I know you're worried about Sonic. We all are. But, you can't keep worrying about the idiot."

Tails furrowed his brow. "But-"

"Bad things happen all the time, Tails." Knuckles intervened, cutting him off before he could form some sort of excuse. "What matters the most is that we get through it together. You know what I mean?"

Knuckles directed his gaze to Tails, curious on whether or not the message had actually managed to get through the fox's thick head. However, he was surprised to see that Tails was staring up at him questionably, the fox sporting a faint smile.

"What?" Knuckles asked, confused. "What's with the look?"

Tails shook his head. "Nothing. It's just weird to hear such a pep talk like that from you."

Knuckles blushed lightly, and he looked away from the fox. With a huff, he playfully shoved Tails away from him. "Shut up."

Tails laughed at Knuckles' embarrassed face, his cheery smile from earlier returning in full force.

"Hardy-har-har." Knuckles laughed, dryly. Truthfully, he was more than happy to find that the mood had instantly lifted. "Now, come on. Sonic's probably waiting for us. And you know how much he hates waiting."

Tails nodded in agreement and he eagerly pushed the wheelchair in front of Knuckles, leading the way to the hedgehog's hospital room. Knuckles smiled at Tails' enthusiasm, and he silently followed behind the fox.

The two of them had been "kicked out" of the hospital early that morning by some of the hospital staff. When Knuckles had initially asked the staff's reasoning, they explained that the "visiting hours" had been over a long time ago. Apparently, Dr. Carmen, despite being somewhat of a callous person (at least in Knuckles' opinion), had been the reason why they had been able to stay as long as they did; something about them being a special case.

In the end, Knuckles found himself tasked with shaking Tails awake and taking him back home. However, Tails, half-asleep, had been adamant about staying near Sonic's side, and he even went as far as stubbornly clinging to Sonic. No matter how hard Knuckles pulled, the fox didn't budge an inch. Eventually, it was Sonic's soft reassurance that he'll be fine, and that he'll see Tails tomorrow which loosened the fox's grip.

Later, after a silent ride in the X-Tornado, when they arrived at Chris' house, both he and Tails were instantly bombarded by everyone at the doorway, despite it being three in the morning.

* * *

_"What happened?" Amy demanded, pushing her way to the front of the huddled group. She was dressed in her pink nightgown, her rose-colored spines in complete disarray. The minute she reached Knuckles and Tails, she grabbed Knuckles' right arm and squeezed it so hard that Knuckles almost feared she might break it. "Is Sonic okay? Is he-"_

_"He's fine." Knuckles assured. He tugged his arm free from Amy's grasp and, instead, settled for clasping her hand. "He's going to be just fine."_

_Immediately, after hearing his positive response, Amy slid to her knees, her shoulders slumping in relief. Then, Amy's panicked face crumbled and she began to cry, her hand still engulfed in Knuckles' large hand. She was soon joined by Cream and Cheese, their eyes just as watery as Amy's, who wrapped their arms around Amy._

* * *

"402... 403-"

Knuckles' thoughts were suddenly derailed by Tails' soft counting and, when he looked, he found that Tails was focused on the bold black numbers of each hospital room that they passed. As soon as they neared one, Tails' eyes would search along the white walls of the hospital until he located the numbers imprinted on the wall beside each gray door. Following the fox's eyes, Knuckles felt himself distinctly reminiscing the earlier weeks in which he, himself, had been in the hospital.

* * *

_When his mind fished itself out of the warm, soothing black of unconsciousness, everything felt fuzzy and unfocused. For a moment, all he could hear was loud static ringing throughout his ears, and his body was impossibly heavy and limp. Then, the static peeled away like the skin of an orange, and he became aware of the sounds of the world around him._

_"... been gone." A soft feminine voice bled into his originally silent surroundings, and he forced himself to focus on it; it seemed weirdly familiar. "... no idea where he went."_

_"... a couple of days." Another voice piped up; this one was more masculine but still fairly young. "... be back soon."_

_A sigh. "... hope you're right."_

_Then, there was a light squeeze on his hand, and he soon realized there was a small hand clasped around his. From there, the pieces of his consciousness connected together, and he soon became acutely aware of the aches that were present in the rest of his body._

_Except, for his left arm._

_That arm was almost completely numb; all feeling practically non-existent. Puzzled, Knuckles made an attempt to move the limb only for a twinge of pain to race up his arm. The sudden, sharp feeling drew an immediate groan from him, the gruff sound hushing the voices._

_"Knuckles?" The hand squeezed his again, this time harder. "Can you hear me? Can you open your eyes?"_

_There were questions - too many questions, all at once - but Knuckles still managed to choose one, and he opened his tired eyes. At first, the world was blurry and indistinguishable, but it eventually cleared, and he soon saw the owners of the voices._

_Amy sat on his right in a plastic green chair, staring at Knuckles with unbelievably wide eyes. When Knuckles looked down, he noticed that her small hand was the one that was clutching his larger one. When he looked to his left, Knuckles found that Tails sat in a chair similar to that of Amy's. Tails had his head in a downtrodden position, his eyes determinedly fixated upon his hands in his lap. Beside the fox, Knuckles saw Cream curled up in her own chair, fast asleep and clutching a slumbering Cheese in her hands._

_"Thank goodness, you're awake," Amy stated, relieved. Her tired voice drew Knuckles' attention back to her._

_"Wh-" Knuckles' throat felt extremely dry and sore, and he had to take a moment to swallow before he dared to try again. "Where am I?"_

_Amy smiled, lightly. "You're in the hospital."_

_Knuckles became conscious of the soft, human-sized bed he was laying on, and the stark white sheets that covered a large portion of his body. He could also detect a faint scent of disinfectant in the air. The sudden feeling of being in an unfamiliar place and far away from the protective aura of the Master Emerald - far enough that Knuckles couldn't even **sense** where Angel Island was at the moment - weighed down on Knuckles' chest. But, he couldn't focus on that right now. One could only hope that the Master Emerald was safe._

_"Where're the others?" Knuckles asked, instead._

_"Chris and the others are outside, talking to the doctor," Amy responded._

_Knuckles nodded, drinking in this piece of information. But, something was still missing; he could feel it. It was then that Knuckles noticed that someone was missing from their little group. "Where's Sonic?"_

_Amy's reaction to his question was immediate. She flinched violently as if Knuckles had slapped her and she looked away from him, her hand slipping away from his. On his other side, he noted that Tails had bit down on his bottom lip._

_He was right; something was missing._

_"What?" Knuckles demanded. When no one said anything, he forced himself upright. His arm - which he was pretty sure was broken - cried out in response to the extraneous movement, but he paid it no mind. "What's going on? Where's Sonic?"_

_Amy visibly steeled herself before opening her mouth. "Sonic's-"_

_"Sonic's **gone**."_

_Knuckles' head whipped around to look at Tails. It was the first words Knuckles could truly recall him saying since he's been awake. Although, Knuckles kind of wished they weren't._

_" **Gone**?" He repeated. "What do you mean **he's gone?** "_

_When Tails said nothing, once again slipping into complete silence, Amy answered for him. "After you got hurt, Sonic went to fight Eggman. By himself. And..." Amy's voice trailed off._

_"And?"_

_"He disappeared." Tails spoke, his voice so quiet that Knuckles also didn't hear him. "We search everywhere for him. We even searched Eggman's base. And now, he's been missing for 3 days."_

* * *

Knuckles clutched his fist tightly as the images of the past slowly slipped away before his eyes. Anger and regret bloomed in his chest, and it took everything within him in order to not hit the wall next to him. The last thing he wanted to do was notify Tails of his internal plight.

The truth be told, Knuckles did truly blame himself for what happened to Sonic. He tried not to think about it - after all, there were more important things to worry about - but it was another thing he had learned from being friends (rivals?) with Sonic and the others; to blame yourself when bad things happen. If he had been more alert; had only paid more attention to his surroundings, then maybe they wouldn't be in this situation. Maybe Sonic wouldn't have gone missing and returned in such bad shape and-

* * *

_"I can see it in your **freaking**_ _eyes, Sonic!" His statement rang even more truthful when Sonic looked away. "We both know there was absolutely **nothing** you could've done to prevent any of this from happening-"_

_"I-I know that." Sonic retorted. "But that doesn't mean I can't_ _**help** , but feel that I c-could've done something _ **_differently_ ** _so you guys wouldn't h-have had to go through e-everything that you did."_

_Knuckles buried his face in his hand. "Geez, it's like you and Tails are_ _**twins** _ _or something._ _**For the love of Chaos, Sonic!** _ _Suck it_ _**up**! Take your _ _**own** _ _advice for once and let it **go**! _ _Instead of thinking about something that happened_ _**over** _ _a month ago, you should be happy about the fact that you're_ _**alive**."_

* * *

He kind of sounded like a hypocrite right now, didn't he? He just told Sonic and Tails that there was nothing either of them could've done to change the events of the past, and here he was doing exactly what he, himself, said _not_ to do.

"Here it is!" Tails unexpectedly exclaimed, dissipating Knuckles' negative thoughts. When the echidna looked, he found that Tails was pointing at Sonic's room number, 424.

"Great," Knuckles said, shaking off his gloomy feelings. "Let's-"

**Boom!**

Whatever Knuckles was about to say was suddenly cut off by a loud crash emitting from within Sonic's hospital room. Shortly following the loud sound, two warring voices poured out of the room; one of them sounded distinctly like Sonic.

Before he could even think - even breathe - Knuckles found his body taking control and moving forward to grab the doorknob. When it was locked or not didn't matter to Knuckles as he threw the door wide open, his hand unconsciously warping the metal handle. Knuckles practically flew into the room with Tails following closely behind him.

"What's going on he-?"

Knuckles stopped half-way through his sentence, rapidly blinking his eyes at the sight before him.

And, what a sight it was.

Sonic laid sprawled out on his hospital bed in an uncomfortable position while Dr. Carmen practically tried (and failed) to pin the hedgehog down on the bed. Despite how loudly Knuckles had opened the door, the two of them were still locked heavily in battle, arguing loudly with each other about something Knuckles couldn't quite make out. All around them, Knuckles also noticed that some of the equipment that Sonic had been hooked up to had been either overturned or disconnected. In particular, Knuckles' eyes fell upon the IV stand which laid on its side, the needle that should've been inserted in Sonic's hand, lying on the floor.

Knuckles truly didn't know whether he should be helping in some way or just laugh at the amusing sight.

Thankfully, Tails beat him to the punch. "What's going on?"

Somehow, Tails' voice managed to squeeze through Sonic and Dr. Carmen's bickering and they both fell silent, apparently realizing that they were no longer alone. Slowly, they both twisted their heads around to look at him and Tails; Knuckles noted that Dr. Carmen's glasses were askew on her face. In fact, both Sonic and the doctor seemed to completely out of sorts. Sonic's fur was mussed in several places, and Dr. Carmen's brown hair had come loose from her ponytail and was currently untidy.

Almost immediately, Dr. Carmen pulled herself off of Sonic and dusted herself off, her hands adjusting her long white lab coat. "This isn't what it looks like."

"I don't care." That was a lie; Knuckles really wanted to know just what was happening before he and Tails walked into the room. "Just tell me what caused all of _this-_ " Knuckles gestured to the rest of the room. "To happen."

Dr. Carmen cleared her voice, her hands now focused on gathering up her hair and placing it back into a ponytail. "Well, Mr. Hedgehog here-"

"Sonic-" Sonic corrected, breathlessly from his horizontal position on the bed. It was then that Knuckles noted that Sonic was missing the oxygen mask he was wearing last night.

Dr. Carmen gritted her teeth, and Knuckles could tell she was trying to resist the temptation to say something rude. " _Sonic_ , here, plugged out his machines at 6 am, including his heart monitor." She leaned down and picked up beside Sonic's bed. When she showed it to them, Knuckles immediately thought the item resembled a small clothespin. It was something that he distinctly recalled being hooked to Sonic's finger, the previous night. "And, when that happened, I got the alert that he had apparently _flat-lined_."

Knuckles' brow rose at this information, and he slowly nodded in understanding. He could imagine being completely freaked out as well if Sonic had suddenly gone from being stable to flat-lining. Although, Dr. Carmen probably had it worse; her patient - especially one as rare and famous as Sonic - suddenly flat-lines out of nowhere. He could only imagine what she had to be thinking at the moment.

"I had to use the bathroom." Sonic insisted, weakly. At some point during the 'story', Sonic had pulled himself up on his elbows.

Beside him, Knuckles heard Tails stifle a chuckle behind his hand at Sonic's pathetic rebuttal. Even Knuckles fought to keep a smile from appearing on his face.

Dr. Carmen, on the other hand, was not amused. She turned her attention to Sonic and pointed a stern finger at him. "Then, you press the _call button_ , and I would've come and disconnected you, _myself._ Or, you've used the bed-"

" _Nope!_ " Sonic yelled, not even giving her a chance to finish.

Dr. Carmen narrowed her eyes at him, and Knuckles could almost feel the tension in the room start to rise again. He had a feeling that if he didn't stop this conversation now, then another fight would most likely break out. Knuckles knew that, through personal experience with Sonic, the hedgehog could be extremely annoying and stubborn, and he felt that Dr. Carmen was along the same line.

"Alright," Knuckles said, loudly. Instantly, everyone's eyes focused on him. "We don't have all day, you know."

Dr. Carmen nodded. It was obvious that she had forgotten that he and Tails were even there. "Right. I'll get you guys set up. Just give me a few minutes."

* * *

She then went about the room fixing what she could. Knuckles watched as Dr. Carmen leaned down and picked up the IV stand before he turned his attention to Sonic. Now leaning against his pillow, Sonic, noticing Knuckles' eyes on him, waved shyly at the echidna.

Knuckles sighed and approached Sonic's bedside. "You can't go one day without causing trouble, can you?"

"Cause trouble?" Sonic scoffed, pointing an innocent finger at himself. "Me?"

Dr. Carmen laughed dryly at Sonic's comment from her spot on the floor beside one of the monitors Sonic plugged out. Besides that, she didn't say anything else as she plugged it back in.

"So," Sonic started. "What took you guys so long to get here?"

Knuckles looked to the side, unsure of what to say. He couldn't tell the hedgehog the obvious reason as to why they had been late. "We, uh-"

"We got lost."

Knuckles twisted his head to see Tails push the wheelchair beside Sonic's bed, giving the echidna a pointed look.

Knuckles nodded. "Yeah, we got lost. We forgot which room you were in since they all look alike."

"Oh," Sonic said, apparently accepting the answer. Out the corner of his eye, Knuckles saw Dr. Carmen silently approach the hedgehog's bed; something small was clasped carefully in her fingertips. Dr. Carmen hushed his

questioning stare with her finger to her lips. "Ok, then-ow!"

Sonic cried out loudly and flinched at the sharp pain that entered the back of his left hand. When he looked at the said appendage, he saw Dr. Carmen gripping his hand, the doctor already placing a strip of tape over the area that she re-inserted the needle in his hand.

"Hey!" He yelled, ripping his hand out of her tight grasp. He softly rubbed at the sore area with his thumb. "That hurt, you know!"

"I know," Dr. Carmen stated, stiffly. She ignored Sonic's hot glare - _probably used to it with her bedside matter_ , Knuckles thought - and investigated the hospital equipment that she managed to fix before she nodded her head at him and Tails. "Alright, he's all set. I don't particularly like that you're moving here; even if he has made somewhat of a miraculous recovery. But, at the same time, I think some movement would be good for him." Then, as an afterthought, she quietly added, "And, for my sanity."

"Thank you, Dr. Carmen," Tails said, politely - because, heaven-knows, Knuckles probably wasn't going to.

"Yeah," Sonic joined in. "Thanks, doc."

"It's Dr. Carmen," She corrected, hotly. The light irony nearly drew a chuckle out of Knuckles. "And, you're both welcome. Now," she headed towards the door. "I have to get going. You're not the only one I have to check up on before the morning's over. I hope you all have a rather Merry Christmas."

"You too." Was the reply.

Dr. Carmen nodded, pleased. "I'll try."

And, just like that, she was gone out the door.

"Well," Knuckles turned to look at Sonic, who was eying the wheelchair in a suspicious manner. "I guess that means we can just-"

"No," Knuckles declared, sharply. He had a feeling he knew where this was conversation was going. "We're not breaking you out of the hospital."

Sonic raised his hands in defense. "You said it, not me. Although," Sonic's face gained a wicked smile. "I do recall hearing something about a certain someone apparently breaking out of the hospital-"

"Do you or do you not want to leave?" Knuckles gripped the edge of the wheelchair. He could only guess who had given the hedgehog that piece of information. "Because if not I could just-"

"Wait, wait," Sonic extended his hand out as if to stop the echidna. "Come on now, Knux. I was just joking. You wouldn't leave a poor hedgehog all alone to suffer, would ya?"

Knuckles merely rolled his eyes and gestured to the wheelchair. "Just come on."

"But, only if you're ready," Tails intervened. He didn't want Sonic to unnecessarily rush himself if he wasn't prepared.

Sonic bobbed his head, an excited smile growing upon his lips. "Of course, I'm ready."

Then, Sonic was shifting his bandaged leg across the bed, striving to pick it up and shuffle to the other side of the bed. Knuckles watched silently as Sonic struggled, the hedgehog's pale face nearly crumbling under the evident pain that was inflicting his body. Knuckles knew better than to say anything to Sonic, and he simply decided to let the hedgehog do what he wanted.

Once Sonic achieved his goal and sat comfortably on the edge of his bed, it became painfully clear to Knuckles that the hedgehog was extremely out of breath. From where he stood, Knuckles could hear Sonic panting heavily, the breaths accompanied by slight wheezing.

"Need help, Sonic?"

Knuckles tossed Tails a curious look, his brow raised. Sonic was a stubborn and idiotic hedgehog who scarcely accepted assistance and the distinct likelihood of him actually permitting them to help was-

Sonic shook his head in defeat, sheepish. "Just a little."

Apparently _very_ high.

Knuckles frowned and looked down at Sonic, but the hedgehog refused to meet his eye. Sighing, Knuckles motioned for Tails to stand on the right side of Sonic while he, himself, stood on the left. There, Sonic wrapped

each of his arms around Knuckles and Tails' shoulders.

"Ok, on three," Knuckles announced. "One, two, and three!"

He and Tails slowly heaved Sonic up from the bed. In the exact instance in which Sonic let the two of them take the full brunt of his weight, Knuckles felt his heart plunge into the depths of his stomach.

Sonic was crazy light.

Throughout several years of battling alongside - and sometimes against - Sonic, Knuckles has had his fair share of fights in which he ended up carrying or throwing Sonic. The hedgehog had always been somewhat light - at least to Knuckles. He hadn't originally noticed the difference in the hedgehog's weight when they found him in the cave, but now, it felt like Knuckles was picking up a small child. And, when he snuck a peek at Tails, he could easily tell that the fox thought the exact same thing, judging by the expression of extreme concern on his face.

"Ah, easy," Sonic's low pained voice startled both he and Tails. "Be careful with the merchandise, would you guys?"

"Sorry, Sonic," Tails apologized.

Sonic gave him a smile. "It's no problem, Tails."

Knuckles rolled his eyes at the two of them, and he began to pull more lightly on Sonic. Together, he and Tails managed to carefully lower Sonic into the wheelchair, drawing a soft wince from the hedgehog. Tails adjusted the wheelchair for Sonic while Knuckles assumed the stead of the wheelchair.

"Ah, sweet," Sonic said, testing the wheels at the side of the wheelchair. Suddenly, a somewhat devious look overcame his expression. "Hey, how fast do you think I could go-?"

"Nope," Knuckles made sure to cut him off. "Don't even think about, Sonic."

Sonic groaned and leaned his head back to look up at Knuckles. "Come on, Knuckles. What's the worst that could happen?"

Knuckles shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe, you crash into a bunch of sick and injured people, or you knock over a bunch of expensive equipment?"

"Psh," Sonic waved him off. "Back me up, Tails. Tell him I'll be careful."

Tails smiled, sheepishly, and rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know, Sonic. I mean this is a _hospital._ "

"Ah," Sonic pouted. "Not you too, Tails."

Knuckles grinned. "See? It's two-to-one. Looks like I'll have to do the driving."

Sonic _hmphed_ , and he crossed his arms over his bandaged chest. " _Fine_ ," he muttered, bitterly. "But, you better not take it too slow."

Knuckles rolled his eyes, scoffing. "I don't think that's for you to decide."

Sonic stuck out his tongue in a childish manner, but Knuckles ignored it in favor of pushing the hedgehog towards the door. Tails scampered to open it, and Knuckles lead the hedgehog down the hallway to the elevator at the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, that's it for now! It'll be a while before this story will be updated again! Until next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Welp! See you guys, next time!


End file.
